How Could BRP Be More Popular...?

[frogspawner]

There is a lot of pseudo peer pressure to use what everyone else does, based on the idea that if the majority uses it, it must be the best. Otherwise know as the "But all my friends are on AOL!" philosophy.

"100,000 lemmings can't be wrong!"

[Rurik]

"100,000 lemmings can't be wrong!"

Ooops, I mean 90,000 lemmings. No wait, 80,000...

Never mind.

[Thalaba]

It doesn't matter how well you can use it, if no one will give you a chance to use your thingy because it not a big thingy. :ohwell:

But if you translate your thingy into French, everyone will think it's sexy. N'est pas? :cool:

Aw - I'm just being silly - I agree that capturing some of the cinematic market share would be a good thing. I think BRP can do that. I don't think the rest of us need to sacrifice what we like because of it.

So now we have:

1. More quality books on the shelves (not just monographs).

2. At least one of these should try to capture the cinematic market, but we shouldn't abandon the gritty core, either.

3. Produce a much lighter version of the quickstart to hand out.

4. Make the quickstart rules available in more places (Drivethru, etc.)

5. Produce a few little primers on how to use the BRP book and its options to emulate the game you want to run.

Did I miss any? Are there any more?

Thalaba

[Atgxtg]

Lemming Curry?!?:confused:

[rust]

"Don't be a stupid lemming - play BRP instead !" >:->

[Atgxtg]

Did I miss any? Are there any more?

Thalaba

Being promoted by bikini models and/or strippers would help.

Hey, it sells cars and heavy machinery that sell for thousands, it can certainly help sell copies of the much lower priced BRP. We could have a "Babes of BRP" supplement (maybe a calendar?). :innocent:

Maybe Triff can put that trollkin on the cover of d100 into a bikini?

[rust]

I seem to remember a rather successful use of a chainmail bikini as cover art ...

[Thalaba]

Being promoted by bikini models and/or strippers would help.

Hey, it sells cars and heavy machinery that sell for thousands, it can certainly help sell copies of the much lower priced BRP. We could have a "Babes of BRP" supplement (maybe a calendar?). :innocent:

Maybe Triff can put that trollkin on the cover of d100 into a bikini?

The BRP writers nudie calender? I like it. Well, it seems to work for firemen and senior citizens anyway. Jason could be Mr. January.

Maybe Alephtar Games could officially release BRP Mecha at a monster truck rally?

[rust]

Or Chaosium could try a strategic marketing partnership with BRP (Bombar-

dier Recreational Products):

Bombardier Recreational Products - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Atgxtg]

"Don't be a stupid lemming - play BRP instead !" >:->

That would go go with a image of D&D style adventures in a line walking into the lair of some D&D nasty (and getting killed).

"90% of all role-playing fatalities happen in D&D. Can you afford to take that risk?

Play Smart; Play Safe; Play Basic Role-Playing."

The preceding announcement was an unpaid advertisement for the Basic Role-Playing game system. All people, places, and role-playing systems are fictitious and similarity to any real people, places or game system is purely coincidence, or at least comical. Your mileage may vary. Neither the publishers, Game Masters, fellow gamers, family members, friends or total strangers guarantee the survival rate for any character, not even a Rune Lord of Yelmalio confronting a pathetic bikini-clad trollkin armed with a stick. Even the players are on their own. Warning: prolonged exposure the gamers and gaming might make you a kook, although stories of gamers taking it all for real and living in the sewers are entirely false. Really. They don't live there, the alligators eat them. Void where prohibited by law, a sense of decency, or a couple of working brain cells. The offer doesn't extend to lemmings, either. If you think I'm crazy, why did you bother to read this? Yea! Go team! Rome wasn't built in a day, just ask Pete Nash. Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. I really need to get more sleep. Why do the have test patterns during the daytime when we're awake, alert, and possible have the TV on? Don't roll high, just rock slowly. Maybe I'm sneak a typo in here for frogspammer. © 2009 (wow! I have copyright to a whole year!)

Edited December 8, 2009 by Atgxtg

[Pete Nash]

The preceding announcement was an unpaid advertisement for the Basic Role-Playing game system. All people, places, and role-playing systems are fictitious and similarity to any real people, places or game system is purely coincidence, or at least comical. Your mileage may vary. Neither the publishers, Game Masters, fellow gamers, family members, friends or total strangers guarantee the survival rate for any character, not even a Rune Lord of Yelmalio confronting a pathetic bikini-clad trollkin armed with a stick. Even the players are on their own. Warning: prolonged exposure the gamers and gaming might make you a kook, although stories of gamers taking it all for real and living in the sewers are entirely false. Really. They don't live there, the alligators eat them. Void where prohibited by law, a sense of decency, or a couple of working brain cells. The offer doesn't extend to lemmings, either. If you think I'm crazy, why did you bother to read this? Yea! Go team! Rome wasn't built in a day, just ask Pete Nash. Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. I really need to get more sleep. Why do the have test patterns during the daytime when we're awake, alert, and possible have the TV on? Don't roll high, just rock slowly. Maybe I'm sneak a typo in here for frogspammer. © 2009 (wow! I have copyright to a whole year!)

LOL! :thumb:

[Atgxtg]

LOL! :thumb:

Did you catch: "Rome wasn't built in a day, just ask Pete Nash" ?

[Rurik]

Ha Ha. Very Funny. Especially the Yelmalio Rune Lord Trollkin bit.

Just don't come crying to me when somebody Sunspears you.

[Pete Nash]

Did you catch: "Rome wasn't built in a day, just ask Pete Nash" ?

Yes, but I thought it was all good - especially the Yelmalio Rune Lord bit.

[frogspawner]

...

4. Make the quickstart rules available in more places (Drivethru, etc.)

...

Hi Dustin

...

One question particularly: Would it be OK for us to put copies of the free BRP Quick Start on other websites?

...

Regards,

Steve Wells (frogspawner on BRP Central)

From: "Dustin Wright" <dustin@xxxxxxxx.com>

To: "Steve" <steve@xxxxxxxx.freeserve.co.uk>

Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 4:47 PM

Subject: Re: How could BRP be more popular...?

You can post the BRP quickstart on other sites Steve.

Cheers

Dustin

So - Go for it, all!

One down, five to go (we definitely need #6, those BRP Bikini Babes).

[Atgxtg]

Ha Ha. Very Funny. Especially the Yelmalio Rune Lord Trollkin bit.

Just don't come crying to me when somebody Sunspears you.

I bet you say that to all the trollkin.

[frogspawner]

So - Go for it, all!

One down, five to go (we definitely need #6, those BRP Bikini Babes).

OK, 'tis done here - into Downloads/Generic. Now to spread the word elsewhere...

[rust]

I will upload the BRP Quick-Start Edition to the Archive of Fundus Ludi, Ger-

many's biggest roleplaying material collection, as soon as possible.

[Akrasia]

I don't think there's "only" demand for cinematic systems, but I do think that's what the majority of the market wants, and once you exclude that part of the market, you're picking among the parts that aren't cinematic but have other preferences that BRP is not serving. As such you're looking at progressively smaller slices of the pie as you look at the people who want build point systems, don't like linear resolution system, and so on, and so forth.

Sure, but so what? Since the dawn of the hobby most RPGs have been picking at the scraps from D&D's table. However, some have picked more successfully than others (including Chaosium, earlier in its history).

Pointing out this obvious fact does not in any way help answer the question of "How Could BRP Be More Popular"? Presumably BRP could be more popular than it currently is, hence the whole point of this thread.

[Atgxtg]

Sure, but so what? Since the dawn of the hobby most RPGs have been picking at the scraps from D&D's table. However, some have picked more successfully than others (including Chaosium, earlier in its history).

Pointing out this obvious fact does not in any way help answer the question of "How Could BRP Be More Popular"? Presumably BRP could be more popular than it currently is, hence the whole point of this thread.

On the contrary. It implies that BRP could be more popular if it were more cinematic, and or more like "mainstream" RPGs. That is certainly on topic.

As for "picking at the scraps", I think the most successful companies did better than that. Back when RQ3 was first released, it was thought that Avalon Hill would be able to get RQ into a lot more stores, making RQ a serious contender for D&D's title. It's not entirely a coincidence that the few fantasy RPGs in the 70s and 80s that had the capability to rival D&D eventually ended up being owned (and buried) by TSR/WotC.

[Nightshade]

Sure, but so what? Since the dawn of the hobby most RPGs have been picking at the scraps from D&D's table. However, some have picked more successfully than others (including Chaosium, earlier in its history).

Pointing out this obvious fact does not in any way help answer the question of "How Could BRP Be More Popular"? Presumably BRP could be more popular than it currently is, hence the whole point of this thread.

What I'm suggesting is that it can't be much more popular and maintain its particular character, because honestly, I suspect much of what its fans like is exactly why its not more popular; because the features many of its fans prefer are things other RPGers don't.

There's certainly some room for more exposure, material to support other sorts of campaigns than the predominantly fantasy and horror offerings its known for and the like, but I'm honestly convinced what many fans of the system consider virtues, many others consider flaws, and you're not going to keep the game as you know it and please them.

Its far too easy to not remember that not everyone doesn't play one's favorite systems because they don't know it, but because what it brings to the table isn't what they want.

[rust]

.

Its far too easy to not remember that not everyone doesn't play one's favorite systems because they don't know it, but because what it brings to the table isn't what they want.

Indeed. No amount of "marketing" or "additional options", no matter how good,

could convince, for example, the Savage Worlds fans I know to turn to BRP,

what they expect and like is simply not what BRP can deliver while remaining

BRP.

[Akrasia]

On the contrary. It implies that BRP could be more popular if it were more cinematic, and or more like "mainstream" RPGs. That is certainly on topic.

If making BRP more like "mainstream" RPGs involves fundamentally changing BRP, then it's not really 'on topic', since it amounts to creating a new system. (Assuming that we're not simply talking about some minor rules options that might help BRP be more 'cinematic' in nature.)

I thought the point of this thread was to consider ways of making BRP more popular, not changing it into something else.

As for "picking at the scraps", I think the most successful companies did better than that.

I was being slightly hyperbolic, of course. But my point remains: making BRP more popular than it is now is not the same thing as making it the most popular RPG around. The former is definitely a feasible goal, the latter most likely is not.

[Akrasia]

What I'm suggesting is that it can't be much more popular and maintain its particular character, because honestly, I suspect much of what its fans like is exactly why its not more popular; because the features many of its fans prefer are things other RPGers don't.

Well, unless you have some decent survey data to back up your claim, this remains pure speculation on your part.

I agree that there is a 'built in limit' to the appeal of a system like BRP (or any system, for that matter). But neither you nor I know what that limit is. And it seems obvious to me that that limit (whatever it is) has not been reached yet.

There's certainly some room for more exposure, material to support other sorts of campaigns than the predominantly fantasy and horror offerings its known for and the like, but I'm honestly convinced what many fans of the system consider virtues, many others consider flaws, and you're not going to keep the game as you know it and please them.

Again, this is pure speculation on your part as to 'what RPG fans want'. How could we know whether they will be interested in BRP unless it is made more accessible to them? That's part of the point of the thread: making BRP more popular than it is now by coming up with strategies for making it known and accessible to people presently ignorant of it.

Sure, many gamers will never be interested in BRP. That's obvious. But so what? That doesn't tell us anything about how to improve its relative popularity.

Its far too easy to not remember that not everyone doesn't play one's favorite systems because they don't know it, but because what it brings to the table isn't what they want.

I'm acutely aware that my tastes in RPGs differ from many others'. I don't like 3e or 4e D&D. That alone puts me (and others with similar tastes) outside the 'mainstream'.

However, again, this is both obvious and entirely beside the point.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Akrasia

[Akrasia]

Indeed. No amount of "marketing" or "additional options", no matter how good,

could convince, for example, the Savage Worlds fans I know to turn to BRP,

what they expect and like is simply not what BRP can deliver while remaining

BRP.

Sure, but making BRP more popular is -- at least in part -- a question of making it both known and accessible to people who might like it, but aren't presently exposed to it, not convincing SW fans to like something contrary to their tastes.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Akrasia